Hughes Dominates, Yanks Hold Off Late Indians Rally
Yankees manager Joe Girardi didn't think he'd need to call in his closer on Tuesday night, but he did.
After Phil Hughes tossed eight shutout innings - leaving with a 6-0 lead - Cory Wade allowed Cleveland to rally for four runs in the ninth, capped by Jose Lopez's pinch hit, three-run homer to make it a 6-4 game. But Rafeal Soriano came in with with two outs and got Lonnie Chisenhall to ground out to close the door helping New York take the first two games of the series, and four straight overall.
Soriano was credited with his 16th save and Hughes improved to 8-6, after 111 pitches with six hits and one walk while striking out six.
The Yankee offense was able to produce runs instead of the usual home run route, although Alex Rodriguez did have a solo blast, his 13th. The team's other ten hits on the night were all singles.
Chris Stewart had two RBI hits, Curtis Granderson had a two-out two RBI single and Nick Swisher had a pair of base hits to go with two runs scored.
Justin Masterson (4-7) suffered the loss after allowing four earned over six innings.
New York (45-28) won for the 17th time in its last 21 games and moved four games ahead of the Orioles in the AL East standings
*Game note: Left fielder Dewayne Wise fooled umpire Mike Dimuro after crashing into the stands trying to catch a foul ball (photo below). Although Wise didn't have the ball, he held up his glove like did catch it and Dimuro called the play an out. After seeing a replay, Cleveland's Jack Hannahan was ejected from the game after for arguing the call.
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